Lions' perspective on Hurricane Harvey post-clean up

A&M-Commerce comes together to help out with Hurricane Harvey post-clean up in Rockport, Texas. 

Photo Courtsey | Paulina Montemach

Giving back to the community is important and the students of Texas A&M University-Commerce took a step further in helping Hunt County city this past summer.  

On May 14, following Spring finals, 24 students and two staff members of TAMUC volunteered with Hurricane Harvey post-clean up in Rockport, Texas.

Volunteers were a diverse set of students ranging from freshmen to recent spring graduates. The students were highly involved on campus  programs and organizations such as the Hispanic Student Association, Student Organization of Latinos, Honors College, Lion Ambassadors, and the Latino American Mentorship Program.

These set of students took a week out of their summer vacation to help out a community that was still in need after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August 2017. The majority of students had no idea there would be such damage almost nine months after. 

“My overall experience was humbling,” said Eric Lopez, Commerce alumni. “...this opportunity was definitely eye-opening. People always talk about how it could be worse, but the actual visualization of what worse truly is, made me realize that I am blessed for having my health and a roof over my head.”

Every morning, the 26 volunteers got their day started at 6 a.m., had a quick breakfast, packed their sacked lunch, and took off to work. 

“My favorite memory was the very first day [and] how we all came together without even knowing each other,” said Ally Garcia, Junior. 

The majority of work that had to be done was knocking down homes, moving knocked down trees branches, removing trash, and constructing new homes in 100-degree weather.

“Meeting new people, whether they were Rockport residents or other TAMUC students, was a definite highlight from the experience,” said graduate student Rafael Ortiz. 

After work, students took advantage of being near Corpus Christi to enjoy getting a tour of the city and going to the beach.Volunteers also did recruitment and outreach at Orange Grove High School, Banquete High School, and Miller High School. 

“I have always believed that as long as you make one person smile throughout your day, you have made a difference,” said Lopez.  “For the 24 of us that traveled down south to lend a helping paw, we put smiles on many faces.”

Students also had the opportunity to learn about Civil Rights leader, Dr. Hector P. Garcia, from his daughter, Mrs. Cecilia Garcia Akers. Each student walked away with an autographed copy of her book. Another event was visiting iHeart Radio station, KSAB Tejano 99.9, with co-hosts Dan & Barbi! However, the most exciting for students was taking a tour of the Selena Museum and visiting her old home. 

“A&M-Commerce did exceptionally well in helping and it felt like the smiles on the people's faces was enough of a reward for me” senior Deantre Spencer said.

One important aspect to Fred Fuentes, Director of Student Diversity & Inclusion, was having to stay at a trailer home at a church shelter. He wanted to students to get a unique experience other than staying at a hotel every night.  

“This was a humbling experience allowing each individual to grow within as well as to create memorable bonds.” -Erika Woodruff, Admission Counselor II said.